Saturday, January 30, 2016

Today, January
30th, the Presbytery of Sacramento voted to place an administrative commission
over Journey Church of Folsom. Although the church voted to leave with property
186 to 32, the Presbytery decided that the smaller group was the true church.

This, for
those of us who are leaving, is true freedom—the freedom to worship and serve
Jesus without the constant heretical proliferation happening in the PC (USA).
One can only have true freedom within the boundaries of God’s word.

This Sunday,
January the 31st will be our last worship service at Journey Church.
On February 7th we will gather in worship, at 1:30 at a church,
Community Bible Church, that has graciously given us space. For a time we will be called Hope Presbyterian
Church of Folsom. We will be a part of the Evangelical Presbyterian
Church.

For some
reason my thoughts tonight are going back to the days of my family’s experience
at Warehouse Ministries and the beginnings of the Jesus Movement. I pray that
such a time will return and overwhelm the youth of all our churches. May our
Lord bring redemption, healing and transformation to his people. May we grow
and flourish and be true servants of Christ.

Here are a
few videos from those early Jesus movement days. The first one includes my
favorite album cover. In fact we own the album with nothing to play it on:

Erick
Nelson, not a well-known singer, was always my favorite performer at Warehouse
Ministries. This song is so relevant for the times we live in:

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

The
Presbyterian Outlook still has an article, “Committee
seeks tools to help congregations engage in interfaith relationships,”
posted that was posted by the Presbyterian News Service yesterday, January the
24th. Today the PNS has taken it down; I had decided to write about
it, I will still write. The article, I believe shows how much the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) has descended into hate, ignorance and false teaching.

The posting
gives examples of how different pastors and churches have supposedly practiced
inter faith dialogue. The authors write:

“These
examples, shared at a meeting of the General Assembly Committee on Ecumenical
and Interreligious Relations (GACEIR) in Louisville, January 20–22, highlight
the increasingly vital role of interfaith activities in Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.) congregations.”

While I don’t
believe that this is the reason the posting was taken down I want to write
about one particular example, that is, the Reverend Dr. Mark Lomax, pastor of
First Afrikan Presbyterian Church in Lithonia and his church’s dialogue with
the Nation of Islam. How does one dialogue with a religious group that began as
a hate group?

I have
written about Lomax
before since he is a pastor who not only uses cultural African ways of worship,
he refers to God using ancient Egyptian gods which are not gods.

I went to
the Nation of Islam’s web site wondering if the leader Louis Farrakhan had
changed his positions. I saw immediately an interview of Farrakhan by Alex
Jonesof infowars.com. I thought that this
would give me a clear view of Farrakhan’s religious views. But not really.
Jones and Farrakhan were agreeing on several
conspiracy theories, most involving a cabal of global elites who were
taking over the world.

The founder
of the Nation of Islam was Wallace Dodd Ford (aka Fard Muhammad) who considered
“himself to be an incarnation of Allah …” He designated Elijah Muhammad to be
his successor.[1]Theodore Gabriel author of the section
on the Nation of Israel in New Religions:
A Guide, writes of Elijah Muhammad:

“Elijah
Muhammad enunciated a myth that depicted blacks as the original human beings
created by Allah, and whites as the result of a generic experiment conducted by
a black scientist named Yacub. The whites would be destroyed by blacks at the ‘end
times’, now imminent, a day interpreted as the judgement day of which Islam
speaks.”

Louis Farrakhan
upholds the words and person of Elijah Muhammad as the prophet of their
religion. In a speech he states:

“I am a student of the Most Honorable
Elijah Muhammad, and I could never thank Allah enough for His merciful
intervention in our affairs in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, The Great
Mahdi—Who is in the world, and is championing the liberation struggle of our
people, particularly in the United States of America. I greet all of you my dear
and wonderful brothers and sisters with the greeting words of peace; we say it
in the Arabic language: As-Salaam Alaikum.”

And yet,
there is more vitriol in Elijah Muhammad words than, surely, any PC (U.S.A.)
member should accept. Dialoguing with The Nation of Islam is somewhat like
dialoging with a neo-Nazi group, the only difference being the skin color.

Craig S.
Keener and Glenn Usry in the book, New
Religious Movements present an even clearer picture of the Nation of Islam,
not only writing of their racism but also of their differences with
Christianity.

Of the
Nation of Islam’s racism they write:

“According
to Elijah Muhammad, whites are devils by nature; there is no way out for them.
People should stop preaching that God loves all people, he warns. God certainly
does not love whites; in fact, he hates them. In Elijah’s understanding the
Bible teaches that hell is the final destination for all whites, “an appointed
people for hell fire from the beginning of their creation. Furthermore,
biblical promises for the righteous can only apply to blacks.… Whites constitute the Adamic race in the
Bible, a devil race formed by the evil scientist Mr. Yakub to avenge himself
against the pure and upright black world.”[2]

There is
also anti-Semitism in the writings of the Nation of Islam. In the text of the
interview of Louis Farrakhan by Alex Jones, Farrakhan states:

“This is why
John Kennedy was killed. He understood the conspiracy and as far back as the
Founding Fathers of this nation, they knew that there would be those who would
try to take over, set up a Private Central Bank. They were told to guard
against that and under Woodrow Wilson, in 1913, the guard left. William
Rockefeller met on Jekyll Island with Paul Warburg and his brother who were
from the Rothschilds. They wanted to set up like the five children of
Rothschild, Sr., the Bank of Italy, the Bank of Austria, the Bank of France,
the Bank of England, all started by the banking family.”

“Well, who
cares who the politicians are,” Mr. Rothschild said, “as long as we control the
wealth.” So they bankroll both sides of a conflict and end up ruling both
sides. …”

Using Jewish
names and bankers to implement Jews in both depression and war is anti-Semitic
and untrue.

Which leads
to another example in the PNS posting and I think perhaps the reason the story
was removed, “In New York City, Jewish rabbis and Christian pastors have
studied together a book about the contentious issues related to
Israel/Palestine.” The book was not named which is an unusual for a news report
in a denomination racked by controversy over Israel and the Palestinians. In
fact, there are a few books that are a part of that controversy. Update: The PNS has now added this posting back to their news site. They have however changed this statement, "In New York City, Jewish rabbis and Christian pastors have studied together a book about the contentious issues related to Israel/Palestine." to "In New York City, Jews and Presbyterians have hosted book studies reflecting on different sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict." Also after writing of the Westend Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and a Jewish congregation the authors write "The congregations also have engaged in a series of book studies reflecting on different sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict."

The further
the denomination moves away from the biblical gospel the deeper she moves into
unsettling dark bogs of heresy.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

A local
church in the Presbytery of Sacramento, is holding an event featuring the Rev. John
Philip Newell. The event, occurring February 12-14 is entitled, “Cultivating
the Inner Courage to Change the Outer World.” Davis Community Church, a
Presbyterian (U.S.A) church is progressive and has a long relationship with
the Covenant Network of the PC (U.S.A.) The speaker, although billed as one who
promotes Celtic theology, is rather, theologically gnostic. Newell uses the
writings of Jung, Teilhard de Chardin and gnostic texts.

Newell was
formerly a warden of the Iona Abbey in Scotland and Companion Theologian for
the American Spirituality Center of Casa del Sol at Ghost Ranch, a PC (U.S.A.)
conference center. Both the Ghost Ranch web site and the Davis Community Church
state that Newell “is an ordained Church of Scotland minister with a passion
for peace among the great wisdom traditions of humanity.”

Jesus:

Newell, in
one of his many books, writing
of giving ourselves for love, states:

“And in the
Christian household, we hear again and again in word and song that Jesus saved
the world. But must we not also say that the hidden part of the story is that
the world saved Jesus? Because Jesus found in the world the true object of his
love, and in giving himself in love, he found himself forever.”

He quotes “Jesus”
from the Acts of John, insisting that
this gnostic text was left out of the Christian canon of scripture because of
the alignment of the ancient church with Empire.

The
Christology of the Acts of John is “Docetic.”[1]
That is, Christ is either separate from Jesus or Jesus’ body was illusionary.
This is a false teaching that denies the incarnation. In Christian Gnosticism
God did not become human. In most cases humanity was perceived as possessing a
divine spark and Christ came to remove humanity’s ignorance about their divine
essence.

Newell,
using a radical Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart, insists that Jesus is not
unique, but rather we are all the only begotten and he speaks of our christhood.

Humanity:

Humanity,
according to Newell, was created out of the essence of God, rather than out of
nothing. Humanity has a need to return to a “sacred oneness of everything” and
the “sacred feminine.” Jesus does not come to save by way of the cross but by
example, to return humanity to their knowledge of their own sacredness and the
sacredness of all things. Newell in a video, The Rebirthing of
God, states:

“Jesus in
the Celtic world is often referred to as our memory; we have forgotten who we
are. We have forgotten our true essence. He comes as our memory to enable us to
remember that we are of the only one, we are only begotten.”

This is pure
Gnosticism and it is not true Celtic Christianity.

Yes, there
is unity, but we are only united to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, through
Jesus Christ. We are adopted sons and daughters because of Christ’s bloody
cross and resurrection.And we and
creation will not be totally reconciled until the coming of Jesus Christ and
the resurrection of our bodies.

For we know that the whole creation
groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only
this but we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit even we ourselves
groan within ourselves waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption
of our body. (Romans 8:22-23)

I looked at
Newell’s brochure sent out for Davis Community Church by the Presbytery of
Sacramento. One could and should weep for the congregation and the community
because of the heretical teaching. But there is one more problem that caused me
grief.

The brochure
called for unity and reconciliation with other faiths; wisdom traditions as
they are called. “Finding Faith in Each other’s Faiths” one presentation is
called. But just a few weeks before this event the Sacramento Presbytery will
vote to place an administrative commission over my church, Journey Church in
Folsom California. Our session, including myself, will be removed as will our
pastor. We will leave our church property and assets behind, and why? Not
because we uphold heretical views, not because we lift ourselves up to be equal
with Jesus Christ as this false teacher does.

The question
simply hangs in the air—unity with all including the heretical who allow Jesus
to be defamed—but no care for those who embrace the Lord of all creation.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

The
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is too often troubled by both universalism and
pluralism. The former is a belief that all are saved by Jesus Christ whether
called by some other faith such as Buddhism, or called by the name of Jesus
Christ. The latter, pluralism, is the belief that it is not necessary for Jesus
Christ to save—that is, there are many roads to God. One vice-moderator, in
a conversation with me, insisted on this particular view. In fact he was
upset that I had instead defined him as a universalist.

On the other
hand, a former executive presbyter of my presbytery, in a conversation about
the 2011 Presbyterian Panel survey, persisted in saying that universalism is a
possible biblical truth. The Presbyterian
Book of Order hints at that same kind of theological view.

Rev.
Dr. Charles Wiley III, coordinator of the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s
office of Theology and Worship recently attempted to redo a question/statement from the 2011,
survey which stated “Only followers of Jesus Christ can be saved.” Many supposedly
said no because they saw the question as rejecting the sovereignty of God. Wiley’s
better question was ““Is Jesus Christ the only Savior and Lord?”

Clearly an answer of “yes” to this question is not
pluralism and can be presumed to be orthodox. However, as I have noted, many in
this denomination are universalists and interpret reformed theology from that
position, in which case Wiley’s question, does not help. What of those who are
of another faith or who simply reject the saving work of Jesus?

An Arminian
believes that as his heart and mind cooperates with the overcoming power and
enlightenment of the Holy Spirit he is redeemed, forgiven, made new and becomes
a follower of Jesus Christ. As Van A. Harvey puts it in his small Handbook of Theological Terms, “… loosely
understood, it refers to those views that stress the ability of man to respond
to divine grace.” On the other hand, a Reformed Christian believes that she was
unable to cooperate with the Holy Spirit until she was overcome, redeemed and
made new by the working of God’s Spirit. She is then a follower of Jesus Christ
living in obedience to the word of God.

But notice, neither
of these two are saved without Jesus Christ. Not only is he the only Savior to
them but their redemption, transformation and continuing sanctification, is
utterly tied to their connection to him. They participate in Christ as they
follow his person.

To clarify a
problem. Some have stated that the Old Testament saints are not redeemed by
Jesus Christ. John Calvin would have none of this. Writing of the sacraments in
his fourth book of the Institutes, he
states this:

“But we have
already shown that sacraments are a kind of seals of the promises of God, so
let us hold it as a most certain truth, that no divine promise has ever been
offered to man except in Christ, and that hence when they remind us of any
divine promise, they must of necessity exhibit Christ. Hence that heavenly
pattern of the tabernacle and legal worship which was shown to Moses in the
mount. There is only this difference, that while the former shadowed forth a
promised Christ while he was still expected, the latter bear testimony to him
as already come and manifested.” (Chapter xiv. 20b)

Recently a
college conference at Montreat focused on John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.”

Some of the
material, which has seemingly been removed from the conference site, suggested
that there was too much emphasis on the perishing section of the verse. The
Presbyterian News Service posting, quoting Rev. Katie Cashwell, also states
of the conference speakers, “Our focus was to reclaim the well-known
Bible verse in John 3:16 as a message of love and welcome,” says Montreat
director for programs, the Rev. Katie Cashwell. “Too often it’s been used for
hate, intimidation and fear.”

This actually fits with the problem the PC (U.S.A.) faces
with the many who insist on an unbiblical universalism. But the good news
occurs because those who are perishing have eternal and full love offered to
them. The text of the third chapter states that it is not that Jesus Christ was
sent to judge the world, but that he was sent to save. And yet, humanity is
judged already because they have rejected the light.

This is
judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness
rather than the Light for their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil
hates the Light and does not come to the light for fear that their deeds will
be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light, so that his
deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3:19-21)

Saturday, January 9, 2016

This is a
series I mean to keep coming back to as my church leaves the Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.), “What we are leaving behind, and yet …” I will explain the “and
yet,” at the end. I am not writing of buildings, we are leaving those behind, but we are also leaving behind troubled ministry.

A worshiping
community, one of the 1001 worshiping communities of the PC (U.S.A.), gather
with a feminist group, which is a part of their community, to honor the divine feminine.
“The East Tennessee Feminist Collective in partnership with Mercy Junction
Justice and Peace Center, will have its first Women's New Moon Circle of 2016
at 7 pm on Sunday, Jan. 10.”

The announcement states that “The tradition of women
gathering is eons old and when we gather on the New Moon we join millions of
other women around the world, and throughout history, doing the same.” Well,
not really—the tradition comes from tales told by a wicked old man, Allister
Crowley, an occultist of the nineteenth century.And the stories he told were added to by Dion Fortune, Robert Graves, Margaret
Murray and Gerald Gardner.[1]

Such moon cycle gatherings are a part of the fellowship
of Mercy Junction. And deity in this worshiping community is referred to as God
(dess).

“Qi gong is an ancient Chinese health care system that
integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused intention. The
word Qi gong is made up of two Chinese words. Qi is pronounced chee and is
usually translated to mean the life force or vital-energy that flows through
all things in the universe. The second word, Gong, pronounced gung, means
accomplishment, or skill that is cultivated through steady practice.”

The idea of a life force or vital-energy that flows
through all things in the universe is too often mistaken for the Holy Spirit. But
there is no similarity. The idea of the life force is generally pictured as an
impersonal force which can be manipulated by humanity. But the Holy Spirit, who
is God, as well as co-equal with the Father and the Son, is personal and
certainly not an energy. The Holy Spirit gives life and directs and leads, but
is not manipulated by anyone. He is, as is the Father and the Son, sovereign.

While I will soon no longer be a part of a denomination
that harbors such a congregation which promotes such dangerous ideas, (They
call themselves heretics with tongue in cheek but the truth is they are
heretics.), I and the members of my church will still exist in a world of
heretics and non-believers. This is the “and yet” part. God still calls us to
minister to broken people, including ourselves. God still calls us to stand for
the faith and against false teaching. I, with the help of Jesus Christ, will
continue to write about his truth, his gospel, his love and forgiveness, it is
the call of Jesus, not mine.

And in all the ways that my church has ministered, and in
new ways, I am sure they will continue on despite what the presbytery is doing
to them. God will grace them (us) with his abundant power and compassion to
serve.

May the members of Mercy Junction find in Jesus Christ a
savior and forgiveness that their good works might evolve from the true God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Many Egyptian Christians from many churches at the Cave Church in Egypt.This is the translation of the song they are singing:Increase your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunes Call out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youSay that He has risen and death has no authorityAnd there is no forgiveness except through His bloodSay that He has risen and death has no authorityAnd there is no forgiveness except through His bloodAnd the light of the Gospel is increasingIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youSay that He has conquered darkness and its authorityHe has lit up our days and given them colorSay that He has conquered darkness and its authorityHe has lit up our days and given them colorAnd the light of day is increasingIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youSay that He is He is defeating his foesWe’re winning with His testimony and bloodSay that He is He is defeating his foesWe’re winning with His testimony and bloodAnd our heritage is increasingIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youLive the joy of heaven, joy, joySatan will wear the clothes of one in mourningLive the joy of heaven, joy, joySatan will wear the clothes of one in mourningAnd our praises to you will increaseIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before youIncrease your praises to Christ, lift up the Lord with your tunesCall out the heroes, His heroes, who walk with the cross before you

The forming and maintaining of sheep

"None but the Virture understood, in its soaring comprehension, the safety in which the sheep still lived, or from what yet deeper distance of spirit was to arise the Innocence which everlastingly formed and maintained them." The Place of the Lion

Followers

About Me

Writer, Lover of books, interested in the history of intellectual and religious ideas, tend with love gardens, grandchildren and great grandchildren. My husband, Brad, is a retired Steinway Piano tuner. We live in a hundred year old house that always needs repairs.